Rhapsody in Scarlet
by Visenya Dayne
Summary: A collection of one-shots on Wanda Maximoff. My intention is to have her interact with many different Marvel characters, such as Quicksilver, Captain America, Captain Marvel, Wonder Man, and Magneto. All one-shots are set post Disassembled unless stated otherwise, so most of them will probably be a bit dark, but I'll try to include lighter moments as well.


Wanda was on her way to watch a musical on Broadway when she felt a disturbance in the fabric of reality. Remembering Doctor Strange had recently entered a long magical coma, it fell to her to take care of what problems arose, so, without a care for her evening dress (_Jan would kill her later!_), she immediately used her magic to go to the source of that anomaly. What wasn't her surprise to find the FF already there and, completely lost on how to deal with threats that defied scientific understanding, beyond grateful for the unexpected help, and the problem was quickly solved.

Scott was kind enough to invite her for a cup of coffee, but sensing Jennifer still resented her for attacking the Avengers a couple of years ago, and Darla Deering's hints of jealousy, Wanda thought it best to say her goodbyes and just get back to the Mansion. She was too exhausted to even consider her previous plans. On her way out, she passed by an open door through which she could see bright colors coming from a television, as a blonde blur ran toward her and hugged her legs.

"Aunt Wanda!"

It had been years since she had last seen Pietro's daughter; she was frankly surprised, but pleased, that the child had recognized her so quickly. Kneeling to Luna's eye-level, Wanda asked her about her Inhuman family, what she had been doing lately, how was life with the Future Foundation. At that last inquiry, she saw her niece flinch, so she proceeded to subtly give her advices on how to interact with the other kids, which the girl took with reluctant attention. _She truly is her father's daughter…_ And then she asked the question Wanda had subconsciously dreaded for the past ten minutes.

"We have a class on other superhero teams, and Ms. Walters told us about the Young Avengers, and she said that Billy and Tommy are on the team. I don't understand, why do they look like grownups if they're younger than me, and why are their last names different?"

Wanda felt a sudden cold creeping up her spine as the old pain returned. How could she explain something like that to an eight-year-old? How much did the child even know of all she had done? But before she could say anything, she felt Luna touch her face.

"Why are you sad, Aunt Wanda? I could take away the sadness, but grandpa says I shouldn't do it."

"He… he said that? When?"

"A while ago, when father used the Terrigen Mists." Pietro had talked to her about it, filled with regrets, just before the war between Avengers and X-Men. "You feel a lot like him, as sad and angry as him."

That statement shocked her even further. When she came out of her stupor enough to realize what Luna was doing, Wanda put her hands on her niece's shoulders and looked at her seriously. "Magneto is right; you shouldn't change people's feelings. Both the good and the bad things that happen to us make us who we are. What is more, you should be careful when you use your powers – people don't like to have others see what is inside them, and some of them… some of them hide darkness so deep that no child should ever know it." Taking a deep breath, she continued. "As to your cousins… My magic accidentally did something to them that caused both Thomas and William to be reborn eighteen years ago and raised by different families. That's why they are now older than you and no longer have the Maximoff name." She knew this was not an accurate explanation, of course, but it was the best she could manage while keeping it simple. "Do you understand?"

Luna nodded. Hesitating for just a moment, she hugged Wanda once again. "I'm sorry, Aunt Wanda, but… you're still sad. I know what will make you feel better."

And that was how Wanda Maximoff found herself unexpectedly enjoying her evening by eating popcorn as she watched anime with her nice and Adolf Impossible.

**A.N.: **I started writing this one months ago (the part with Adolf was added later, of course), when it was clear Luna was joining the FF. And then I realized I had no idea how to write a child, so the actual dialogue ended up shorter than I intended. Still, what I really wanted was for them to talk about Wanda's twins and for Luna to use her powers, and I'm happy with that part. And yeah, Luna is 8 here because I'm tired of her being constantly de-aged so she's eternally 6.

If you have any requests for characters and situations, I take prompts, just PM me here or on Tumblr (visenyadayne). But the only pairings I write are Wanda/Steve and Wanda/Simon (perhaps Pietro/Wanda, but for a different story; I'm not including incest on this one).


End file.
